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Reviews

Your Reviews: Spring/Summer 2013

16/06/13 - A tribute to Sir Colin Davis

David GladwellA phenomenal performance of the 8th…It was an interpretation of astonishing drive and energy, played with chamber quartet intensity, bow hair flying! The culmination of the first movement almost reduced me to tears. Gordan Nikolitch’s vision of the work was clear, his direction, urgent, taut, exciting, but always allowing Beethoven’s moments of repose, grace and wit time to breath. A wonderful tribute to Colin Davis’s own brand of intravenous Beethoven. I hope he was listening. Sospiri was a touching tribute from son to father.

12/06/13 - Michael Tilson Thomas/Yo-Yo Ma

Chua Yi FangOn 12 June 2013, together with 33 students and 4 colleagues, we watched Michael Tilson Thomas with Yo Yo Ma and the London Symphony Orchestra perform at the Barbician Hall. The opportunity to watch a world class orchestra perform with world renown musician and conductor in the world perform live was indeed a once in a lifetime privilege for most of my students and myself! We were awed by the spectacular sound and sheer display of virtuosity! According to one of my students "LSO made 20th century music sound amazing!" My students are greatly inspired by the performance to strive to one day become just like the musicians your orchestra!

Thank you very much for making such inspiring and soul stirring music come to live!!

Peter LudbrookIt was a real pleasure to see MTT back with his old orchestra. They always seem to strike sparks off of one another…What I am sure of is that both performances were very good and it was wonderful to hear Yo Yo Ma again. The Shostakovich 5th is one of my favourite and this performance was all that I had hoped it would be. The LSO were on their finest form and the playing, both collective and individually, was astonishing. To my ears when the LSO plays like this it is the most exciting orchestra in London.

09/06/13 - Michael Tilson Thomas/Yo-Yo Ma

Ryan HepburnI just wanted to say a big thanks for the stunning LSO/MTT concert on Sunday 9 June. I'm so pleased you maintain a link with Tilson Thomas; his concerts and approach to performance seem so innovative and fresh, despite the fact the guy's now knocking 70! Hearing less well-known Copland alongside an absolutely terrifying performance by Yo-Yo Ma was totally extraordinary, and demonstrated so clearly why London is so lucky. I wonder if you can lure MTT away from San Francisco when you start looking for a new Principal Conductor?!

Thank you so much. I really hope that you can maintain the outstanding work you do, despite the mess of the UK economy. You're an absolutely irreplaceable bunch of legends. Thank you!

Cosette Simeon-Bonnaeu Thank you , thank you to Yo-Yo Ma for dedicating his encore last night to the memory of Sir Colin Davis. Staring at the empty rostrum I realised that never again he will stand there before us. And sorrow hit me, deep and implacable. And then came the tears, incontrollable and endless. Sir Colin, we will never stop missing you.

19/05/13 - LSO/Sir Antonio Pappano

Peter LudbrookThis was a thrilling concert. It was the first time I'd heard Pappano live and the first time I'd heard the Lutoslawki's 'Concerto for Orchestra' in the concert hall. I was not disappointed. From the pounding opening chords of the Lutoslawski I was gripped. Those concert-goers who only appeared after the interval really missed something special.

The Tchaikovsky 4th was one of the best I've ever heard. Pappano realised all the passion and poetry in this wonderful work and whipped up a real storm in the Finale. The playing of the LSO during the entire concert was beyond reproach. It was also apparent they'd much enjoyed their encounter with Pappano.

05/05/13 - Family Concert: America!

Tremaine & Tanya Moore We all thought the event was truly outstanding and no wonder there were so many families present. It was our first ever visit to the Barbican, our first ever visit to see the LSO and for our two children (aged 10 and 8) the first time they had been to a classical concert. We are definitely converted and have been telling everyone in East Kent that we know, how brilliant the event was.

The highlights for us;

-Enjoying making music as a family (we brought the grandparents too)-Excellent, enthusiastic and energetic presenter-Friendly nature of all staff and musicians-Well-thought out foyer activities-Notes and guidance before we arrived so we listened to West Side Story in the car

We will be back - thank you so much!

Rosie Rangarajan

Thanks. It was brilliant. Rachel Leach is superb - a real talent.

Ana ElviaThe concert was fantastic! The presenter does a great job to involve the kids and explain the pieces.

Mrs Nicky Murray (and Katie,10 and Hannah,9 ) Just wanted to say a massive thankyou to the LSO for another great concert! We managed to download the music and both my daughters played their instruments which they really enjoyed. Unfortunately as my youngest plays the Teneroon I had to transpose the Bass part up a 4th but it worked OK despite it being a long time since I did any theory!

Rachel Leach was superb and really helped us to connect with the orchestra.

All in all a great concert – can’t wait for the next one!

Michiko TakahashiWe enjoyed the LSO family concert again. Thank you very much. It is great to hear that "proper" music played by the great orchestra, not dumbing down for children. The quality of music is really important I think.

21/04/13 - Guillermo García Calvo/Juan Diego Flórez/Joyce Di Donato

Manon BrownThank you so much for the most wonderful evening on Sunday 21st I have never heard anything so beautiful You are all amazing and the conductor was superb Brilliant!!

24/02/13 - LSO Discovery Concert: The Mighty Sea

Frances and Stephen NagyOur grandchildren enjoyed the concert and the various activities leading up to it very much. We all found Rachel Leach's introductions most interesting and exceptionally inspiring

Lucy BlakstadI brought along my 6 and 7 year old, neither of whom play an instrument so we were THRILLED to be able to try out different instruments beforehand - trumpets on the table were great but if it were possible the only thing would have been a few more musicians around telling us how to make a sound / how to hold it as we had no idea. Kids LOVED it. Concert really great - especially seeing the closeups on the scene behind AND the fantastic female presenter (from Yorkshire) All in all a fantastic experience !!

Teresa JefferyThis concert was something of an experiment for us but I have to tell you it was an extremely successful one. My husband has a rare form of dementia called PCA which affects the vision as well as the mental state. He is registered blind. We do still attend concerts but his short term memory is not what it was so I wanted to try the family concert to see how he would enjoy it. Benjamin Britten is one of his favourite composers and also Portsmouth Point was an old favourite.

He enjoyed the concert greatly, and joined in with the singing of The Drunken Sailor. It is well known that many dementia sufferers retain the ability to enjoy music when they lose other skills so I would just like to say thank you for the pleasurable experience we had.

12/02/13 - Bernard Haitink/Maria João Pires

Reg CliftonThe incredible LSO Concert on the 12th. February, was to prove [Bernard Haitink’s] abilities remain at an enviable peak – how is that possible? Accompanied by Maria João Peres – I am sure I speak for thousands who love her and admire her interpretations – with the Orchestra we must never forget are one of the finest ever mustered for classical playing – hers was a performance of finesse and beauty, providing us with a more gentle masterpiece twix’t two works that kept one on the edge of the seat with excitement.

I am not qualified to make critical comments on the music, [nor can I think of any!], but I am qualified to suggest this concert was of the highest/world standard and sheer joy and pleasure to be there in the presence of music making at its best.

07/02/12 - Mark Anthony Turnage 'Speranza’/Sibelius/Beethoven

Stephan HowseThe playing was absolutely superb in a piece that stretched the LSO's considerable virtuosity to the limits.It is scored for a huge orchestra including such exotica as Cimbalom and Duduk.The latter instrument has a prominent role in the second and fifth movements and its haunting,breathy,sound-somewhere between an alto flute and a saxophone-was one of the most immediately striking ideas in the work.Turnage's sound-world should not scare anyone familiar with Stravinsky,Ravel or Bernstein.The wild,jazzy,third movement sounded,to me at least, like Bernstein on steroids!

The audience was very enthusiastic in its applause at the end of what is Turnage's biggest purely orchestral piece to date.